Scaffold or Pillory scene in The Scarlet Letter

The scaffold scenes in “The Scarlet Letter” are very dramatic and significant from the point of view of the plot development. There are three such scenes, and they come at the beginning, middle and end of the story. These scenes highlight the tension between the principal characters of the novel. These scenes also force of the story. The scarlet letter “A” dominates

all these scenes. Now, we will bring out the dramatic significance of the three scaffold scenes in the light of the novel, The Scarlet Letter.

The first scaffold scene occurs in the first two chapters of the novel. There stands Hester Prynne on the platform of the scaffold, carrying her baby in her arms. She wore on her breast the scarlet letter ‘A’ finely embroidered. The people stand below and the leaders of the community- civil officers, magistrates, priests stand above on the balcony. A group of women have already spoken to one another about the repentance of the punishment awarded to Hester Prynne. Now the leaders of the community exhort Hester to disclose the name of her fellow sinner. But Hester refuses to divulge the secret that lies buried in her heart. Then Reverend John Wilson exhorts her not to transgress the limits of Heaven’s mercy and speak out the name and by confession take out the scarlet letter. But Hester is pre-determined and she emphatically says ‘Never’ to the request of John Wilson. Finding her resolute in not disclosing the name of her partner in crime, the beadle takes her back to the prison. Here also the scarlet letter dominates the proceedings. The letter on the bosom of Hester has assumed a symbolic significance.

In this first scaffold scene, irony of situation is prevalent. Arthur Dimmesdale who is Hester’s partner in sin, is ironically asked to exhort her to reveal the name of her partner in crime. And the words that he speaks to her have double meaning, one for the audience and another to Hester and his own self. This scene is important because Hester has to bear public shame for her sin.

The second pillory scene comes midway through the novel. In this scene, we meet the conscience-stricken minister, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The secret in his heart has become unbearable to him and he tries to unburden his heart at midnight. Seven years after Hester’s punishment, in the midnight, Dimmesdale holds a vigil on the scaffold where he finally accepts his sin. He openly confesses his sin not to the town, but to himself. This proves as a gigantic step toward salvation- his self-forgiveness.

In this scene, Roger Chillingworth is able to confirm the suspicion that the partner in the sin of Hester was the Reverend Minister. This scene is also dominated by the scarlet letter ‘A’. While the meteor in the sky is seen as the symbol of his own guilt by the minister, the town people feel that it was a symbol of Governor Winthrop’s acceptance as an angel.

The third and final scaffold scene occurs at the end of the story. In this scene Hester and Pearl come to stand on the scaffold so that they can watch the minister deliver his Election Sermon. The subject of the sermon was the relation between God and mankind. Soon after the sermon the procession reformed and started towards the town hall where a banquet was offered on this grand occasion. But instead of going towards the town hall, Dimmesdale retraces his steps towards the scaffold where

Hester had stood seven years ago. As soon as he reaches the pillory, he asks Hester and Pearl flies towards the minister and accepts his extended hand. With the invisible help of God and visible help of Hester the minister ascends the scaffold. He tells them about the real sinner who has corrupted innocent Hester Prynne.

In this powerful scene, Dimmesdale regains his soul, Pearl gains her humanity, Chillingworth loses his victim and Hester loses her dreams. Again, here the main characters come together, and this time Dimmesdale reveals his ‘scarlet letter’. Thus this scene describes the finest hour in the life of Dimmesdale.

        To conclude, the significance of the scaffold scenes in the novel “The Scarlet Letter” is immense. Hawthorne returns again and again to the scaffold as he unfolds the story of Hester and her sin. The scarlet letter and the scaffold get fused with the story in such a way that we cannot imagine the story without these two recurrent symbols.